ELECTRONIC DETONATERS:

Description
Electric instantaneous and short delay (SD) detonators are designed for safe ignition of sensitive explosives and
primers.

Application
Electric detonators SD are used for the initiation of commercial explosives in open cut and underground operations.

Key benefits
Accurate delay timing

Waterproof

Abrasion resistant insulation

Recommendations for Use

Electric detonators SD should only be used by personnel who have been correctly trained in the handling and use of
explosives.

Electric detonators SD contain sensitive components and must be handled with care and respect at all times.

Not to be used in a gaseous environment or where there is danger of coal dust explosion.
 Can be used in oil-shale mi nes
dangerous for dust

Solar industries manufacturing initiation system are:

MICRODET-1(programable electronic detonater)

Product Specifications
Parameters
Shell Material Alluminium / Copper
Strength No.08 / No. 06

Shell Length 85 mm

Shell O.D. 7.5 mm

Delay Range 0 ms to 8000 ms

Max Operating Temp 60 c

Water Resistance Excellent

Leg Wire Material Copper Coated Steel / Copper

Max Leg Wire Length 60 Meters

Bus Bar Wire Material - Copper, Two Coloured ( 0.07 /mtr.)

(Resistance)
Max. Circuit Resistance 100 ohms
Delay Time + 1ms upto 500 ms & + 0.2 % above 500
ms

Technical Specifications

The System :
a) A Programmable Electronic Detonator (Microdet-1) consists of an electronic circuit which controls the delay
timing of the detonator. The Microprocessor-based electronic circuit permits setting of variable delay timing. Each
detonator has a unique detonator ID number allotted to it at the time of manufacture. Also, each detonator is
provided with a unique tag number which acts as a detonator ID number.

The electronic circuit has a digital timing circuit and an energy storage device, which will release the energy,
only when the arm and then the firing instruction is given.

T he electronic detonator is connected to a connector by a Twin Copper/Copper coated steel wire.

T he micro logger can be connected to the twin Copper/Copper coated steel wire through the connector.

The Electronic Detonator consists of the following parts :

1. Detonator Shell : The detonator shell is made of either Aluminium or Copper and having an outer diameter
of 7.5 mm. The length of the shell varies from 80-85mm.
2. The Base charge and Primary charge : It is made of PETN and ASA composition.
3. Electronic Circuit Board : The electronic circuit or the Chip controls the delay timing and safely allows the
firing sequence.
4. Lead Wire : It consists of twin Copper/Copper coated steel wire with PVC coating. 5. Connector : This is a hinged
plastic device, which would connect the individual detonator through the twin Copper/Copper coated steel wire
to the main circuit. The connector is used for quick connection of the detonator to the main bus line.
6. Lead Wire Spool : For lead wire length of above 10 metres, the wire is coiled on to a plastic spool.

The detonator will be inserted and secured in the centre shaft space.

b) The Micro Logger : This is used to set the delay time and has the capability to store information like hole
number, detonator ID, delay time and the blast number. The Micro Logger, when connected to the Microdet
Detonator, it allots to that particular detonator the ID number, hole number and the delay time that has been set
in to it. It also checks the integrity of the detonator. The required/ desired delay time thus allotted can be changed,
modified before the data is transferred to the blasting machine. After logging all the detonators, the data from the
Micro Logger is transferred to the Network tester and Blaster.

c) Network Tester : The Network Tester is used to check the network connection. The connection made with
all the detonators will harness wire and check with the network tester. If any one of those is not connected properly,
the hole ID of that particular detonator is displayed on the screen of the Network
Tester.

Micro Blaster : This is used to check the circuit after all hook up is completed. The blaster checks each detonator
one after the other and confirms its readiness to Arm and Fire the detonator.

The Blast Circuit :

The circuit is completed, when all the detonators that are given a unique hole number and the delay time by the
micro logger is primed and connected to the main bus line consisting of copper wires through the connector. The
main twin copper wire (bus line) is connected to the micro blaster, which counter checks and tests all the detonators
one by one. To fire the blast, the bus line copper wire is connected to the micro blaster, which is placed at a safe
place. The micro blaster is able to interact with all the detonators continuously one after the other. On receiving the
All OK signal, the micro blaster then arms all the detonators. On receiving the All Ready signal, the Fire signal is
given. The advantage of the system is that the micro logger communicates with the micro blaster and transfers data
from the Logger to the blaster. An option of transferring the data on the PC and setting the blast details is also
available.

Delay Timing :
The programmable electronic detonators can be set with a delay interval of 1 ms from 0 ms to 8000 ms. The delay
variation is maximum 1 ms for delay upto 500 ms and +/- 0.2% beyond 500ms.

Specification of Detonator :
Shell Material : Aluminium/Copper

Strength : No.8/No.6

Shell Dia : 7.5 mm

Shell Length : 85 mm

Delay Range : 0 ms to 8000 ms Delay Interval :

1 ms

Storage :
The normal storage precautions as followed for any Electronic equipment as well as Explosives will ensure the
prescribed life of product.

Safety Features :
1. The Micro Logger checks the integrity of the detonator.
2. The Micro Blaster is capable of checking the connection of the detonator, current leakages and the circuit
continuity.
3. It is not possible to arm the detonator without a key/password. Thus, the blaster without the password will act
only as a network checking machine.
4. A key is provided in the micro blaster without which, it will not be able to communicate with the detonator.
5. The Electronic Detonator will be used under the supervision of our qualified blasting engineers or a person
trained by our blasting engineer.

Precautions :

Precautions :
1. Like all detonators, an Electronic Detonator contains sensitive explosives and so, care is to be taken to avoid any
impact, friction and heat.
2. When the Abort signal is given, the check procedure will have to be started after a lapse of 10 mins.
3. In case of misfire, the blast site should be approached after a lapse of 30 minutes.

Application Advantage :

The MICRODET-1 Electronic Detonator is capable of providing :

Accurate delay timing

Flexible delay timing
Safe and Robust in Handling
Reliability in use
Easy to use

Advantages :
Better Vibration control due to more precise delay timing
 Optimisation of fragmentation
Better control of rock movement
Better back break control

-DYNO NOBEL DELIVERS

We offer a reliable and robust range of electronic detonators, control equipment and software including
DigiShot, DigiShot Plus, SmartShot DriftShot and GeoShot.

1. Increase Safety & Security

2. Reduce Overall Costs
3. Deliver Value

Our electronics have been proven time and again to deliver value, reduce overall costs and improve safety and
security. Each product is frequently evaluated and improved to ensure the technology continually delivers
tangible value to mining operations around the globe.
UNIQUE FEATURES

Large Blast Capability

Remote Firing
Blast Design Flexibility
Rugged Reliability
Complete Testability
Blaster-Friendly Taggers
No Delay Assignment on the Benches
Easy-to-Use Blasters

SYSTEM BENEFITS

More Control: Vibration, crusher throughput, highwall stability and operational efficiencies can be improved
with all our programmable electronic initiation systems.
Easy-to-Use: Menu-driven software minimizes end-user training time. The hook-up process is quicker
because delay timing can be entered ahead of time.
Minimal On-Bench Components Simplify Use: Just the Electronic Detonator in the borehole which easily
clips to the 2-wire busline on the surface. Thats all!
Convenience: Blast patterns and timing can be programmed into the Blasters in advance, or on the day of the
shot, whichever is more convenient.
Automatic or Programmable Delay Timing: Choose easy auto-programming to save time and reduce
errors or the manual programmable mode to accommodate virtually any delay scheme.
Security: The Blasters are password protected and require a specific Smart Key which uses a coded signal to
fire the blast.

1. Introduction

Electronic devices (ED) were developed from an idea originated in the 1990s. Till now, EDs have been
developed in Italy during the testing stage. They can fulfil the demand for increased accuracy, but their
costly technology has hindered their expected growth.

In an ED, delay is achieved electronically; a computer chip is used to control delay timing. An integrated
circuit chip and a capacitor internal to each detonator control the initiation time.
An electronic detonator has a number of advantages, e.g. higher precision, improved blasting result
owing to a wide range of delays, reduction of airblast/ground vibration, and safe use in extraneous
electric environments, and the possibility of limiting the amount of detonators per shot. It has some
disadvantages too, e.g. higher cost per detonator and the need for intensive training for users.

Conventional timing systems, to be compared to electronic timing, are listed in Table 1 and shown in
the sketches (Figure 1). Electronic timing, in its turn, comprises electric detonators that include an
ignition energy storage device and a programmable electronic timer, wired together with the
programming, energy feeding and activation system. This makes it possible to decide freely, and obtain
accurately, whatever distribution of detonation times is desired by the blast designer. Moreover, mixed
systems (electronic + A3, electronic + A4) are possible.
Since the electronic detonators (and other components of the system, including the trained operator)
are more expensive than conventional systems, the intrinsic advantages arising from the electronic
timing option deserve to be weighted against the higher cost.

In Table 2, some relevant features of electronic systems are compared to conventional systems. The
safety fuse is disregarded, being used practically only in A5 + A3 and A5 + A4 mixed systems.
With regard to accuracy, there are some other considerations: flashover (owing mainly to inaccuracy in
drilling and charging) is not affected by the timing systems; the detonation of a charge can last
some ms to some msdepending on the explosive and the size of the cartridge; and inaccuracy of ms in
the detonation starting time definition implies an inaccuracy of some metres in knowing the space
travelled by a detonation front in the explosive, by a shock front in a rock, or by the tip of a
propagating crack. In practice, in addition to the congenital inaccuracy due to type of explosive and to
its geometry, the inaccuracy (even only a few ms) due to the timing sequence must be taken into
account.

Moreover, geometrical and geomechanical details of the mean are described forcibly in a statistical way,
which adds some uncertainty: absolute accuracy of the results' prediction is not possible, even when
laboratory tests on artificial materials are carried out.

More information is available in literature (Reisz et al., 2006). The accuracy of detonation times,
however, rules out a great number of random effects, provided that the same care is taken in refining
the explosion timing, drilling, charging and stemming.

In general, accurate and flexible timing allows blasters to make small hole-to-hole and row-to-row
changes to account for drilling inaccuracies. Adjusting the blast design to actual conditions can improve
safety and fragmentation, which can cut costs by optimizing the loading and hauling cycle, increasing
crusher throughput, and reducing the amount of oversize handling and secondary breaking.
A great advantage of this type of detonator is its safety in the case of any stray currents, radar
radiation or other electromagnetic interference, as well as its safety in the case of misuse. It cannot be
fired simply by a battery or by other electric sources.

In addition, precise and variable delay timing organization enhances high-wall stability and bench crest
preservation, resulting in safer mine operations and in lower blast-induced ground vibrations. These
improvements allow for more accurate placement of boreholes for subsequent blasts. Optimization of
the blast design to take greater advantage of the electronic detonators' precision expands the blast
pattern and reduces the explosive consumption, without negatively affecting production (Sharma,
2009).

Electronic detonators are generally programmable in 1 ms increments and have a delay accuracy
(scattering) as low as 0.1 ms.

Main blasting opportunities with electronic detonators are: frequency and peak particle velocity (ppv)
control; large open pit patterns (long delays); easiness of multiple decking initiation (minimal delay
intervals); large stope blasting; fragmentation optimization; and delay period re-evaluation.

Incorrect timing of explosions (too long or too small an interval) affects the blast result
according to different mechanisms:
Seismic effect may be increased because of unwanted cooperation, or because the actual burden
of a charge exceeds the ideal planned burden (as the rock to be broken by the previous
explosion should be still firmly in place) or because of positive interference effects.
Fly rock throw can be increased, either because rock removal by the previous explosion is in a
too advanced stage, or because it is still insufficient; in the first case, burden is too small, in the
second is too high and the ejection of stemming can take place, due to gun-effect.
A lack of balance of the actual burdens between the charges of the blast gives rise to localized
backbreak effects and to irregularities of the residual face and irregular fragmentation, even
when the ideally expected burdens are measured accurately.
In multi-row blasting, when the breaking line of a row is the free (or "almost free") face of the
next row, any irregularity causes further irregularity in the fragmentation.

The present work is the result of a detailed analysis of literature: some works refer to underground
stopes, while others examine open pit mines and quarries. In order to evaluate the benefits from the
use of EDs, the data considered (seismic effects, fragmentation, and overbreak) are defined in the
following, in percentage terms, according to the ratio (1):

2. Opencast works

The study by Sharma (2009) examines the structural response to blast-induced ground vibration. He
underlines the importance, from an environmental point of view, of minimizing vibrations induced in
urban dwellings by blasting. The maximum response of a building to blast-induced ground vibration
occurs whenever the frequency of the ground vibration matches the natural resonant frequency of the
structure: if there is little or no energy at the resonant frequency of the structure, the structural
response to the vibration will be negligible.

By choosing delay times (t) that create "destructive interference" at frequencies that are favoured by
local geology, the vibration that excites structural elements could be reduced. In this method, accurate
delay times are crucial for effective vibration control. Electronic detonators have less than 1 ms scatter.
In this light, researchers have started to find both limitations and different potential in this new
technique of controlling blast vibration.

The computer analysis determines the application of delay timing between holes, rows and decks which
would produce the most favourable blast-induced vibrations for buildings and urban dwellings.

In Table 3 and Figure 2, data pertaining to ED and to pyrotechnic detonators (PD) are shown.
A reduction of the ppv is noticeable when ED are used: this trend is shown in Figure 2, where scaled
distances are plotted against peak particle velocities; data refer to 18 blasts that were fired during
testing on site, 9 of them with PD and the rest with ED.

The study by Bartley et al. (1998) refers to the employment of a 60 kg/hole charge per delay (cpd); the
events were monitored at a distance varying from 400 m to 822 m. Deacon et al. (1997) refer to
another case, in which the cpd were in the 20-46 kg/hole range using PD, and in the 16-20 kg/hole
range using ED; the events were monitored at a distance of 140 to 180 m (using PD), and from 130 to
160 m (using ED).

During mining operations in a South African quarry (quartzite and sandstone) McFerren et al. (2004)
adopted ED and PD (shock tube). The cpd was 230 kg and the powder factor was 0.42 kg/m3.
The ppv monitored by Chavez et al. (2003) are the results of the blast with the comparison of ED vs.
PD, with interhole delays of 12 ms in a French limestone quarry. In the same paper, the reductions
of ppv generated by ED in another quarry are reported; 40 to 55 % with respect to the ppv obtained by
PD.

Few authors evaluate the frequency increase when EDs are employed. In particular, by using the
relation F = 1000/delay to get the dominant frequency, the expected value of the frequency can be
calculated (Deacon, 1997; Chavez, 2003).

As shown in Table 4, by adopting ED instead of PD an increase of frequency values is observed.

Also, the airblast levels were recorded by Baka Abu (2002) and McFerren et al. (2004) during mining
operations. The first author obtained these results: the airblast levels were reduced from 127 dB to 108
dB (-15 %) using ED instead PD. McFerren et al. (2004), during blasts initiated with ED instead of PD,
observed a reduction of 3 %.

Another comparison between ED and PD is the rock fragmentation degree obtained from the blast
(Table 5).
Grobler (2003) refers to the results obtained in surface mining, particularly on the log-linear plot of
muck pile; ED produced a reduction in the upper size and the fines. In contrast, the grain size
distributions related to ED, evaluated by Knig et al. (1994) and Havermann et al. (1995), are
systematically higher compared to PD.

The study by Bartley (2001) of the post-blast muck pile excavation indicated a 25% reduction in dig
time using ED. Moreover, the crushing operations show a reduction of electric power consumption
(kWh/t) of about 6 - 10 % if EDs are employed.

When EDs are employed, thanks to the improvement of the fragmentation, the block size distribution is
upgraded (in comparison with PD) as follows:

maximum block size: reduction of 24 %.

 mean size: reduction of 25 %.
minimum size: reduction of 10 %.

3. Underground works

In the last 15 years, some applications of the electronic detonators have been developed, to be
employed underground, especially in tunnelling. In some cases, electronic devices can be used even in
mixed systems, as shown in Figure 3.

The study by Svrd (1993) refers to the employment of a 3 kg/hole charge per delay (cpd), while
Thomasson (2000) describes an event in which a 400 g/hole cpd was adopted.

Cho (1997) refers to another case, in which the cpd were in the 125 - 500 g/hole range in case of PD,
and in the 125 - 375 g/hole range in case of sequential blasting. The events were monitored at a
distance of 20 to 33 m (in the case of PD), and from 21 to 42 m (in the case of sequential blasting).
See Table 6.

Some experimental blasts were carried out by Wetherelt (2007) for a comparative study of ppv in a
tunnel. In the first blast, PDs (non electric detonators) were employed, while in the second EDs (with
the same delay times as in the previous case) were used. The results obtained by monitoring ground
vibrations are shown in Figure 4; the cpdemployed for the tests was 1.60 kg.
The comparison of an ED vs PD firing system in underground mining activities is not so relevant in
terms of muck-pile fragmentation (see Table 7), as quoted by Tose and Baltus (2002).

The authors, whose works are quoted in Table 8, point out that an improvement of the blast's precision
and a reduction of the overbreak is noticeable, thanks to the employment of electronic detonators. In
tunnel driving, more advantageous results can be obtained in the quality of the blast: overbreak lowers
by more than 40 %, by resorting to the mixed system ED-PD, realized by adopting PD for the cut and
for the stoping holes and ED for the contour holes. EDs are employed most of all in the contour holes, if
they have to be fired simultaneously.

4. Conclusions

The results of this review show that the employment of EDs is advantageous in terms of vibration
reduction, increased frequencies, airblast, improved fragmentation in the muck pile, diggability,
crushing cost saving (less energy used during the primary and secondary fragmentation), and control of
overbreak, which allows greater profile accuracy. Nevertheless, EDs' advantages are satisfied where an
accurate design of the blast and an adequate hole's drilling and charging are guaranteed.

As discussed, the electronic detonators provide more accurate timing than the conventional pyrotechnic
detonators which rely on the combustion speed of a pyrotechnic composition. The timing accuracy
capability of the electronic detonator allows for:

More efficient application of explosive energy.

Improved muck size uniformity.
Increase in excavation productivity.
Cost saving in excavation operations.
Improved public acceptance of blasting.
An additional benefit of electronic detonators. i.e. the improved control of blast-induced
vibrations and airblast.